5 Top Places to go in Vancouver!

Vancouver is such a fascinating city, while I like London more, the feeling of going to Vancouver has always been great, before my flight to Vancouver, I am always excited because it is always such:

• a refreshing change from the old, historical, full-of-tourists London
• a much needed break after the crazy spring term in Imperial (in second year for Spring term, I had 2 Mastery Tests which needed 80% to pass, and a formal final exam for Programming, given that I had only 1.5 weeks to prepare for that since I had already planned my holiday earlier, in addition to the exam madness, I had 5 other subjects which came with coursework submission almost every week)
• MOST IMPORTANTLY, to see my boyfriend (in case you didn't know, we started of just 3 months before we parted for studies in different countries)

If you are fortunate enough to visit this amazing city, do take an effort to visit the following places:

1. Stanley Park

If you have really limited time in Vancouver, a visit to Stanley Park is definitely a must, especially during Spring or Summer. I visited Vancouver during Spring, where I got to witness cherry blossom, and they were absolutely breath-taking. I've even heard of someone saying that the cherry blossoms in Vancouver might be comparable to what you would get in Japan! That is really interesting. So, if you do not have the chance to visit Japan during the sakura season, Vancouver might be a good alternative (if you happen to be in North America or something...)

Myself trying to take a picture with the pretty white Sakura

Stanley Park is massive, it's one of the biggest parks in North America, and walking around the park would take you hours. The best thing would be to rent a bike else where or near the park, and take your time to cycle through the park. Signs are everywhere so you don't have to worry about getting lost (yes it is THAT huge). Being very adventurous, I sort of dragged my boyfriend to try a cycling path that looked very dodgy, which seemed to lead us into a forest or something... Half an hour later we finally managed to get ourselves out of the cycling trail, and realised that it was one of the hardest cycling trails in the park. AND YES, we CONQUERED IT--- by lugging the bikes with us, instead of riding them. 

Me lugging my bicycle up the hill. It might not look steep here, but it really is.

And yes, I am usually walking ahead of him, probably because I am too impatient, or I can't trust his sense of direction, or he is just being a very caring boyfriend who wants to protect me by watching my back...

Even after our two visits to Stanley Park, I am not quite sure if we have covered the whole park. Maybe, it is always good to leave something uncompleted behind, and that would be your reason to be back. ;)

Just one of the very pretty sights of Stanley Park

Picture says it better: I was definitely enchanted by how beautiful cherry blossoms can be

Along the eastern side of Stanley Park

2. University of British Columbia

My boyfriend used to study in UBC, and I am sure that during summer time, the Rose Garden would be absolutely stunning. As I visited him only during Spring, I only have some pictures of the cherry blossoms in the campus itself. Coming from a university right in the city of London, I do not have a university with such a large campus, with greenery around. Even the libraries are really beautiful, unlike the library at my university... Most importantly, they don't try checking your student pass, which in other words, it would be much nicer for people to visit instead of having to apply for some sort of Visit Pass or something from the university.

Our favourite favourite picture!!! All credits to the awesome photographer, who painstakingly took so many pictures for us. Taken at Place Vanier in UBC

You could also visit Wreck Beach in UBC, apparently a popular clothing-optional beach in the campus of UBC and watch sunset there.

There is also Japanese Garden in UBC, which I clearly enjoyed the place. 

Remember to drop by Irving Library to have a glimpse of the pretty library. I don't mind spending whole day studying there lol!

3. Queen Elizabeth Park

I find QEP much manageable compared to Stanley Park. I think they both are pretty, it's just that QE Park is smaller and slightly more walkable than Stanley Park.

Unfortunately weather in Vancouver during Spring could be really unpredictable, so it started raining heavily when we were at Queen Elizabeth Park. Quite a shame, but the park was still really beautiful, and it felt good to be the only few people in the park - you feel like you have got the whole park to yourself! So peaceful that you get all the positive energy from the beautiful surrounding!

4. Fairmont Hotel

You might even get more English here. Imagine having an afternoon tea without burning your pocket? A proper Afternoon Tea in London could easily cost you £40-50 per person. So when I saw the voucher of getting an Afternoon Tea in Fairmont Hotel at CAD $70 for two, we both grabbed the voucher!

The experience was amazing, and it was definitely one of the most posh afternoon tea that we would ever had!

I would love to be back again, anytime. The service and the food were impeccable. 

5. Richmond

Being an Asian at heart who genuinely loves oriental food, I just have this thing for Richmond. I really like coming to this place, to get a feel of hawker centres and shopping malls. Richmond is such a Chinese suburb that you even get signboards in Chinese only, no English.(seriously I saw many signboards while travelling on the tube/metro)

You get cheap food in huge portion.

For example...

Another of my favourite would be the beef noodle from Chef Hung:

The list doesn't just end here... Granville Island, Downtown Vancouver, Kitsilano Beach, Capilano Suspension Bridge and so on...

But those five places are definitely those places that I would strong recommend to anyone. :)